Synopsis

Callum Lynch discovers he is a descendant of the secret Assassins society through unlocked genetic memories that allow him to relive the adventures of his ancestor, Aguilar, in 15th century Spain. After gaining incredible knowledge and skills he's poised to take on the oppressive Knights Templar in the present day.[4]

The bulk of the film takes place in the present day (65% present, 35% past).[3]

Development

Michael Fassbender as Aguilar

Ubisoft began development of the film in May 2011, where it was confirmed for a 3D release.[19] Later that year, Ubisoft was reaching a deal with Sony Entertainment to distribute the film. The terms and conditions surrounding the agreement were described by Hollywood insiders as "unheard of", with Ubisoft getting the final say on budget, principal cast, script, release date and more.[20]

The level of control being afforded to Ubisoft divided critics of both games and films, with many noting that while Hollywood insiders considered Sony's move to have killed the film before it had even begun, gamers considered the move to be beneficial to the franchise's future, as in recent years, game adaptations had tended to be of poor quality.[20] Senior Vice President of International Marketing, Jean de Rivieres, echoed this sentiment, and claimed that the film will "reflect the brands accurately and consolidate our fan base."[19]

Michael Fassbender came aboard to star and produce a year later. He explained "I met up with the guys from Ubisoft and they told me the story behind it, and I thought it was very interesting — the idea of reliving memories."[21]

On 22 October 2012, it was announced that Ubisoft Motion Pictures had chosen to develop the film in close collaboration with New Regency, because they were "a talent and filmmaker-driven company, with the same independent and creative mindset that we have at Ubisoft Motion Pictures." The development of a screenplay began immediately, and the project was fast tracked, while still allowing Ubisoft to maintain control of key elements of the film's creative direction.[22] Ubisoft also changed their distributor from Sony Entertainment to 20th Century Fox, though the reason for this has not been made known.[23]

It was decided that characters from the games would not be used, as the film was about "finding a character that was fresh."[3]

Ubisoft hired English writer Michael Lesslie to pen the script for the movie, and Conor McCaughan to help Fassbender produce the film.[24] In 2013, screenwriter Scott Frank (Minority Report, The Wolverine) was rewriting the script.[25]Adam Cooper and Bill Collage, who wrote the original draft of Ridley Scott's Exodus: Gods and Kings, were assigned to rewrite the script the following year.[26]

In April 2014, it was reported Fassbender was looking to reteam with director Justin Kurzel, with whom he collaborated on the upcoming film version of Macbeth.[27] In August, Fassbender confirmed Kurzel was attached to the project, as was his cinematographer Adam Arkapaw.[28]

Promotional image

In February 2015, it was announced that the film had entered production.[29] Costume designer Sammy Sheldon Differ said, "I have much respect for the historical accuracy and vast characterization represented in each game. This has been a fantastic starting point to understand what is needed to be faithful to the artistic content and begin creating our film world. Bearing in mind this rich base, I have used our period of 15th century Spain, with its strong influences of Moorish deco, to give the Assassin's looks a nomadic warrior personification." Filming began on 31 August 2015, and took place in London, Spain and Malta.[30] The movie has also been confirmed to be set within the same universe as the franchise's other media.[31]

Shooting wrapped on 15 January 2016.[32] By May 2016, work had begun on the movie's sequel.[3]

Marketing

On 21 December 2015, Ubisoft tweeted a photo of Abstergo Industries CEO Alan Rikkin's business card. Fans emailing the address or calling the numbers on the card would receive a response: the voicemail was voiced by Jeremy Irons.[33] The voicemail changed later to a different message from Rikkin which was followed by an electronic "hacking" type sound and then Callum Lynch reciting the tenets of The Creed. Sometime after the movie's release, the phone number ceased working.

Devin Graham of YouTube channel Devin Super Tramp worked previously with Ubisoft's support to make Assassin's Creed fan films. TeamSuperTramp was contacted to help with promotion for the film. After recording some of the creation of the film's principal production in Spain in December 2015, they returned the next month, after filming was completed, to film a promotion video with parkour stunts, Assassin's Creed Movie Meets Parkour in Real Life - Day in the Life of a Stunt Man, with Damien Walters separately, the stuntman for Fassbender. This was in case Walters had an accident which would normally hold up production. The precaution became justified when Walters tore ligaments in his left ankle on a bad landing, but the rest of the recording was able to be completed by working around the injury.[34]

Trivia

The original ending of the film had Callum as the lone survivor. He would then go on in subsequent films attempting to escape the Templars. Test audiences did not react favorably to this ending, so it was changed prior to release.[35]